06.03.14

Over the next few months I would like to use this column to talk about Scottish music and, in particular, my personal favourite albums.

Before I start, I want to call out the fact these albums are in some way connected with Scotland is secondary to the fact they are great music. At the most base level, I look at music in terms of whether I get it or not. I don't look to subjective terms of good or bad, but towards whether the music has moved me or not. If the album is Scottish - created by a Scot - then it's a bonus, but in my experience great music is boundless and tends to break out of any box we place it in.

With that said, the first album I consider a personal favourite is Mogwai's soundtrack to the TV show "Les Revenants".

I'm a big fan of Mogwai and have a deep love for their particularly expressive form of post-rock. I found them relatively late in the day and, to date, I have only seen them live once: at Paisley Town Hall in support of their "Hardcore will never die..." album. I have fond memories of their set and, in particular, the last half-hour. Their music seemed to get louder and louder as I managed to find some space in the middle of the crowd. Being rather short (albeit taller than Prince & Tom Cruise) I was glad of this room until I realised both bassbins were pointed directly at me and I could feel the bass in my legs & the pit of my stomach. All I could think of, as the band played, was an article I had read that day on non-lethal crowd-control measures currently being tested by the US Army - one such measure involved a gun that shot 'sound', in particular specific bass frequencies, that caused rioters to involuntarily defecate. With this thought in my head, I was so worried I was going to poo myself in the middle of this gig! I managed to control myself and, if I remember correctly, was constipated for days afterwards ... this, however, didn't put a block on my love for Mogwai.

I remember it being a very pleasant surprise to hear the soundtrack to "Les Revenants". It was more sedate and less poop-your-pants loud than the Mogwai I was familiar with. To this day I still marvel at the restraint shown when I put the needle on the vinyl copy I was given by a dear friend to help me overcome a recent bout of illness.

From the opening bars of "Hungry Face", played on a glockenspiel (or toy piano), to the fading throws of "Wizard Motor" with its fuzzy guitar drone, I am held in rapturous awe. The combination of keys, percussion, guitars, and electronics on each track is simply sublime ... with a downbeat melancholia that is truly inspired. What's more, Sonia Cromarty's cello playing is superb ... she really adds to the atmosphere created by the Mogwai boys.

This album works as the fitting backing to the wonderfully unnerving "Les Revenants", a series created by Fabrice Gobert that is said to be inspired by "They came back", a film by Robin Campillo. It also works as an independent body of work. Even the sole vocal track, a poignant rendition of Charles Elbert Tindley's traditional song - "What are they doing in Heaven today?" - works as a song in its own right. It is a thought-provoking song about the after-life ... one where the subject matter is approached with an almost childlike curiosity rather than with either reverence or animosity.

Tracks like "Fridge Magic" with its haunting glockenspiel (or toy piano) or "Eagle Tax" with its delicious melody played on keys and guitar really give this album a sense of timelessness.

Other tracks of note include "Modern", a rather noisier affair that still holds its own in terms of melody and feeling, and "Jaguar" with its heartbreakingly gorgeous melancholy.

In fact, each track is sublime in its own way ... each track holds its own ... and it is for this reason that I consider "Les Revenants" to be such a favourite of mine. It is, first and foremost, a great piece of music, one that is equally suited for a Scottish winter in Motherwell as it is as the backing for an excellent French TV thriller set in the French Alps.